


A Little Hope

by theSapphireSky



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Doctor Ben Solo, F/M, Hugs all around, Rey Needs A Hug, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-07-27 17:06:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16223522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theSapphireSky/pseuds/theSapphireSky
Summary: When Rey meets the broken, brilliant Doctor Ben Solo, she never imagined they would become friends. And she certainly never expected to fall in love with him.The only problem: she already promised him that she wouldn't.





	1. A Midnight Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> My first Reylo...here we go. :)

The night shift was considered by most to be the worst possible assignment. Either it was uneventful and mindnumbing to stay awake for 17 hours or it was a never-ending stream of sleep-deprived chaos. 

But Doctor Ben Solo preferred it. Being one of the city’s (country’s, in fact) top trauma surgeons, the relative quiet that the night shift offered was a welcome respite after weeks of non-stop surgeries, the patients sometimes blending one into the other. When he was in the surgery, his focus was entirely on the patient in front of him and he would push himself to the limit to keep them alive. Failure wasn't an option.

But on the nightshift, he could relax even for just a moment between calls. The waiting rooms would be relatively empty and he would find one with a view of the city. 

Tonight the lights were hazy in the misty rain that fell. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching the droplets of rain trail down the window. The night had been quiet so far and he took a moment to breathe. 

“Come on,” a small, tired voice spoke behind him followed by the mechanical rattle of a vending machine. He turned around.

A young woman, probably not more than 22, was scowling at the coffee machine. She had on a large sweater with University of Alderaan written on the front in fading letters, leggings and work boots. Her brown hair was pulled back in three buns, a style he had never seen before, but it seemed to fit her. 

Before she could slap the machine again, he uncrossed his arms and walked over. “You have to bang the top,” he said. She looked up at him as if surprised to find she wasn't alone and he was met with a freckled face that was dominated by her eyes. He slapped the top of the machine and immediately it began pouring the life-giving nectar into the tragically small cup. The girl gave him a smile. “Thanks,” her gaze dropped to the stitching on the left side of his white coat. “Doctor Solo.” 

Ben nodded. He wasn't one for small talk and moved over to the rack of sad-looking sandwiches. He couldn't afford a regular eating schedule and was always cautious to eat when he could. Getting hungry in the middle of a life or death surgery wasn't an option. Even if he had to eat one of the vile sandwiches before him. 

Settling on ham and cheese, he bought his meal and sat in the corner chair, as far from the girl as possible, draping his long legs on the magazine laden coffee table. 

As he took a bite and took out his phone, he felt the burn of eyes on him. He swallowed and glanced over. The girl was staring at him, ignoring the thick volume open on her lap. He deepened his ever-present scowl. No one dared approach him when he wore it and even the head nurses feared him. He wasn't here to make friends. He was here to save lives and screw anyone who got in his way. But this girl didn't appear to get the message written on his forehead to “F-off.” Because next thing he knew, she was dropping into the seat next to him. 

He didn't look up from his phone. She cleared her throat and, biting his cheek hard, he closed his eyes and slowly turned to glare at her. 

Only to find a fresh cup of coffee thrust under his large nose. 

“To wash down that pathetic excuse for a sandwich,” she said wryly. He looked from the cup you her. Up close he could see the individual freckles dotting the bridge of her nose and the beginnings of dark circles under her eyes. When he didn't take the cup, she raised her eyebrows and pushed it closer until he had no choice but to take it or risk wearing it. 

“It's not poisoned, I promise,” she teased. He pulled the tab on the plastic top back and took a sip, eyeing her carefully, not sure why he was obeying this strange girl.

Satisfied, she smiled. He swallowed the bitter coffee and wondered how anyone could smile in a hospital. Especially in the waiting room of the ICU. This place was essentially a waiting room for death or a miracle. And even when the miraculous did happen, it was often met with the sobering reality of limited life. 

But this girl seemed to be fighting the thunderclouds that hung over this wing. He inwardly shook his head. She was young still. Yet to learn the brutality of loss, heartbreak and pain. It was almost enough to make him feel sorry for her.

“I'm Rey, by the way. Rey, with an e,” she explained. Ben only grunted what could pass for an acknowledgement. But she didn't seem disappointed, instead continuing on as if he was entirely engaged. Her head turned to the door, a sobering sadness crossing her face. “My foster father is here. The doctor said he might not make it through the night.”

Foster father? God, she was younger than he thought. “I'm sorry to hear that,” it was rote, something he spouted off to more than one patient. 

She turned back to him and gave him a look that said she saw right through his BS. “Honestly, I am surprised he made it this long. He wasn't the best of father figures or men, for that matter, and I haven't seen him in years. But he kept me on as his next of kin for some reason and so…” She gestured at the room around them as if to say “so here I am.”

“You don't have to be,” Ben found himself saying. Inwardly, he cursed himself for engaging further. “The city would take care of it if no one came to claim him as family when he passes.”

Rey looked at him for a long moment and he had the sudden feeling of being exposed. Her voice was soft and almost accusatory as she said, “No one should die alone.”

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. 

Finally, she stood and his eyes followed her. “I should go.”

Ben didn't say anything. 

“Good night, Doctor Solo.” She crumpled her empty cup and tossed it into the trash with a perfect shot and picked up her ridiculously large textbook.

“Rey,” he called out, entirely to his own surprise. She stopped at the doorway and turned back, hands twisting the sleeves of her hoodie as she hugged the book to her chest. He lifted his cup. “Thank you for the coffee.”

Her eyes softened and she nodded, giving him a small smile before disappearing down the hall, her heavy work boots fading away.

In the silence of her absence, Ben found his thoughts drifting to her and the strength behind her sad eyes. 

Suddenly, the harsh alarm of his beeper pierced the quiet and he glanced down, hastily jamming the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. Time to go.


	2. Coffee and Cookies

Three days later, she was there again. Hunched over a textbook, pen in her mouth and another lodged in her hair bun, legs crossed under her where she had somehow managed to pretzel herself into one of the waiting room's hardbacked chairs. Same hoodie even.  


It was close to morning, the sun breaking over the groggy city and Ben's shift was coming to a close. Three emergency surgeries and a handful of broken bones had kept him busy enough. Now came the paperwork. And for that, he needed coffee. 

Good coffee. Proper nectar to wipe the bleariness from his eyes just long enough to scribble his notes in the ridiculously small space on the electronic tablet he carried. 

As he made his way through the labyrinth of halls to sneak down to the in-house coffee shoppe, he came up short when he saw her there. Dark circles enveloped her eyes and she yawned, probably not the first time, into her hand, the sleeve wide and loose on her arm. She shook herself and doubled down over her book, scribbling furiously in the margin.

Ben watched her for a moment longer, then continued on his way, the scent of bitter coffee calling to him. 

  


……

  


She was going to be dead asleep in class today. Rey scrubbed her face and tried to refocus her eyes on the words in front of her. Were the letters supposed to be swimming?

She groaned and leaned back. Though she knew logically she should go home and rest, she couldn't bring herself to. The hospital had said they would call as soon as something happened. But she lived so far away. What if she didn't get there in time? Even the university was just five minutes away and she kept her phone on and charged at all times. But the thirty minutes to her meager little apartment...if Unkar...her mouth turned down. Not if.  _ When _ . When Unkar made a turn, she wanted to be there. 

He was in a coma. The doctor had said it was unlikely he would ever wake up and only a matter of time before he passed away. He would never know she was there or not. But Rey wanted to be. He was a rude, pissy butthead and she had hated him for the four years he fostered her. But he had put a roof over her head and food in her mouth, which was more than anyone before him had.He had no friends, no family. Only her, the little orphan girl he had taken in.

For all his bad faults, he was still human. And she firmly believed, no matter how horrible, that no one should die alone.

So she spent her nights at the hospital. Sleeping fitfully only to be awakened by shouts and alarms, thundering footsteps, followed by ominous silence. Or studying, trying to soak in as much information as her tired brain could take in, before going back to the real world of endless classes and tiring work.

She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Just a few minutes rest. Then back to studying.

  


……..

  


  


“Hey.”

She jolted awake with a snort, her eyes flying open. 

A man stood over her, tall and rather like a thundercloud, blocking the light from the fluorescents above. She blinked and belatedly realized her mouth was hanging open and a bit of drool was on her chin. 

Scrubbing her face, she squinted up at him. Tall, dark haired, scowling, white coat...ah, Doctor Solo. 

“You looked like you could use this,” he was saying and holding out an enormous cup and paper bag. 

She recognized the logo of the cafe downstairs that charged half the cost of her tuition for a freakin’ small black coffee. 

“Go on, it's not poisoned,” he grunted with a hint of a smirk and gruffly thrust it under her nose. She inhaled deeply and it was like all her senses were hit with an adrenaline boost. She grabbed the java and hurriedly drank it down, ignoring the burn of the hot liquid. It was half gone by the time she stopped to breathe. Wiping her mouth, she relaxed and smiled dreamily. 

“Heavenly,” she declared. 

Doctor Solo was staring at her like she was a zoo exhibit. Trying not to laugh at the poor man who had probably never seen a woman drink properly and had been surrounded by dainty espresso drinkers his whole life, she cradled the warm cup in her hands and smiled. “Thank you.”

He just raised an eyebrow and dropped the paper bag on top of her open textbook. “You should eat something, too. Otherwise you'll be bouncing off the walls on straight caffeine.”

She peered inside the bag and her eyes nearly rolled back in her head as the sweet sugary smell of the gigantic cinnamon roll hit her. Her mouth watered and, right on cue, her stomach let out an enormous growl. 

Doctor Solo chuckled, rich and dark. 

Hardly one to be embarrassed, Rey just shot him a mild glare, ripped off a huge piece, and shoved it whole in her mouth. 

She was surprised when he sat down beside her and sipped his own coffee, half the size of hers. His long legs stuck out into the room and his broad shoulders barely seemed contained by the miniscule chair. 

“Want some?” She asked and gestured toward the bag. But with a mouthful of cinnamon-y bread, it came out “W'ndum?”

He snorted and shook his head. “That's all yours, kid.”

Rey shrugged and popped another piece in her mouth. His loss. 

“How is he?”

She swallowed and took a long sip. “Doctor Ackbar says it's a matter of days now. With this type of cancer, it moves fast.” She didn't really want to discuss this with him. Her life was a series of people leaving her, one after another, and she hated it. She looked down and plucked at the cinnamon roll before taking another, smaller, bite. In a hope to change topics, she gestured a sugar-coated finger at his embroidered name. 

“So is there a first name or should I keep calling you Doctor Solo?” 

“Doctor Solo is my name.”

She rolled her eyes at his uptight tone. “Were you born Doctor Solo? Or did you change it, in case anyone forgot you are an M.D.?”

His jaw moved in a way that told her he was annoyed by her teasing. But that didn't deter her. “Shall I call you Doc?” She pretended to eat a carrot. “What's up, Doc?”

Even her best Bugs impression didn't garner even the slightest smile. 

“Benjamin.” 

It was so quiet she almost missed it. She leaned in dramatically and said, “What was that, Doc?”

“My name is Doctor Benjamin Solo.”

Well, that was easy. Though the good doctor looked as though he had had all his upper teeth pulled. 

Rey popped another piece of roll in her mouth. “Doctor Ben,” she tried it out, liking the sound of it. 

His eyes darkened. “No. Doctor Solo.”

Rey mock scowled at him. “So uptight, Doctor Ben!”

“Doctor Solo,” he repeated, slowly, firmly. She bit her cheek. 

“Okay, okay.” She relented with a laugh. “I still think you look more like a Doctor Ben.”

In one smooth motion, he stood and gave her a singular nod. “It was nice to see you again, Rey.”

He started to walk away, but she couldn't help herself. A couple of nurses were walking past as she called out, “Doctor Ben!”

He froze. The nurses froze. Their eyes widened and they looked frantically between Doctor Solo and Rey. This would be water cooler gossip for  _ weeks _ .

Rey could hear her own heart beat as Doctor Solo slowly turned around. 

“Thanks for the coffee,” she grinned widely and raised her nearly empty cup to him in salute. 

In an instant, he was stalking away. 

Rey felt the nurses’ eyes on her as she drank the last of her coffee. Teasing him had been fun. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed and Doctor Ben Solo was just the kind of uptight person to draw out the challenger in her.

  


……..

  


“Pleeeeease?”

Ben slapped the folder on the counter and signed his name with a flourish before handing it over to Holdo, the head nurse. Beside him, Poe was doing his best to whine him into submission.

“No,” he replied for the umpteenth time. 

Poe followed him down the hall, like a great, big, curly-haired dog. Loving, likeable, and loyal. Three qualities Ben could never hope to have. 

“One game, you win and I never ask you again.” Poe was resorting to bribery. This was new. Ben stopped and spun around. Poe, not expecting a sudden halt, almost ran into him, his sneakers squeaking against the lino. 

“And if you win?” Ben asked testily. 

Poe got a shit-eating grin on his face that never boded well for Ben. “I win and you come to Sunday dinner.”

“Hell, no.”

Ben resumed his stalking away, taking a right and talking with a couple nurses needing his sign off. Poe dogged his steps the whole way. 

“Shouldn't you be, I don't know, kissing some child's knee boo-boo right now?” Ben snapped. 

“I'm on lunch.”

“So go eat something, I'm busy.” Ben flipped through the chart Paige handed him, mind racing as he read the ominous diagnosis. “Schedule her for the next available slot. Send it to Holdo and I'll scrub in.”

Paige hurried away, leaving Ben and Poe alone. 

“They miss you, Ben.”

He really knew where to hit him. Ben turned to Poe, for all intents and purposes, his older brother. Though Ben was actually three months older, Poe had always been his defender. When his parents had taken Poe in, the summer before high school, Ben was sure the pretty-haired jock would bring his torment home and was dreading the next four years. 

But Poe had been different. He actually liked Ben. Sure, he was still an egomaniac and the jock king. But he never once let anyone hurt Ben. Years later, in med school and halfway to drunk, Ben finally asked him why he had stuck up for him.

Poe had looked at him like he had sprouted a second head with a halo on it. “Because you're my brother.”

It was that memory that made Ben say, “Fine. One game, Dameron.”

Poe beamed triumphantly. “I'm gonna whoop your ass on the court, Solo! You're going to be crying big manly tears all the way to Sunday dinner by the time I'm done.” He mimed throwing a slam dunk, playing it up to the cheering crowd in his overactive imagination.

Ben shouldered his way past the obnoxious punk. They had made a full loop and were back at the nurse's station. 

“Mrs Peterson has been scheduled for 2pm in bay 3,” Holdo read out from the schedule and handed him the full report. She brushed a strand of purple hair from her face. “Doctor Storm will be secondary.”

Ben grunted. Finn Storm was adequate. Which was more than he could say about quite a few of his colleagues. 

“And this was dropped off for you.”

It took Ben a moment to realize Holdo was talking to him. He looked up from the file to see her holding out a round, Christmas tin. It was tacky and cheap. 

“It's been scanned by security,” she answered his unspoken question. 

“Someone sent Ben a gift?” Poe leaned over his shoulder, agog. Several other nurses slowed or stopped what they were doing to watch. Ben pulled off the top and the scent of oatmeal hit him hard enough to make his mouth water. 

Packed to the brim, the tin was full of freshly baked, still warm oatmeal scotchies. A folded note sat on the top. 

“Poisoned?” Poe guessed. Ben ignored him and opened the note.

**_Thank you for the coffee._ **

**_Rey_ **

To his absolute bafflement, she had drawn a smiley face next to her name. 

“Rey? Who's Rey?” Poe demanded, trying to grab the note. Ben held it out of reach, a benefit of being a foot taller, and Poe settled for snagging a cookie. 

Absolute perfection, Ben determined after taking a bite of his own. He then held out the tin for the nurses, who pounced on the cookies like hyenas until only a handful remained. 

Poe stared at Ben, eyes narrowed. 

“Just someone I met once or twice. A college kid.” Ben defended himself. 

“She calls him ‘Doctor Ben’.” Teedo, a fool of a nurse, piped up. 

Ben turned a deadly gaze on the man who went from smug to scared in an instant and said darkly, “Thank you, Teedo.”

Poe smirked. “You let her call you ‘Doctor Ben’?”

Ears burning behind his shaggy hair, Ben snorted and shoved another cookie in his mouth. “She wouldn't stop.”

“I like her already.”

Ben rolled his eyes and finished off the last cookie. Time to get down to work. “The two of you would get along like a house on fire. All sass, no class.”

Accustomed to his brusque manner, Poe just leaned against the tall counter and grinned. “You love me, bro.”

Ben was halfway down the hall toward the surgery, but still called out their customary reply. “I tolerate you.”

“Nerd!”

“Preppie!”

 


End file.
